Heather in OK Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 We will be there for two days, a Saturday & Sunday. One day we will spend at The Mall area. The other day we will be at The Mall and would like to go over to see the Capitol building. Which is the best option for our Metro fare? - Day Pass It would be $54 per day for all six of us. There really isn't anywhere else in town we plan on going (we are going to drive and park at Arlington on Monday before we leave town) in D.C. on the metro. - SmarTrip cards and load them up for both days. I used the Trip Planner on the website and I *think* I figured the fares correctly. From the King Street station to the Smithsonian Metro station it says will be $2.15. So there is $4.30 one day per person. The next day we may go from the Smithsonian station to the Capitol South station which it says is $1.60. Add in fares to/from the King Street station and that second day would be $5.90. So the total fare per person for both days that I figure from that is $10.20. $108 and $61.20 is a HUGE(!!!) difference!! This is why I wanted to make sure I was figuring fares correctly! Also, if we do the SmarTrip, we can ride the bus if we want/need to, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 We vacationed in DC this summer and our cheapest transportation was to combine the metro (pay as you go) and the DC circulator bus. The circulator was easy to use and cost $1/ride, regardless of how far or what time you travel. They have a website that shows the routes. Good luck! All the public transportation employees were extremely friendly and helpful to our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Thanks! I hadn't heard about the Circulator. I just looked at the map and it doesn't look like it goes anywhere we are planning to visit since we just have the two days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Look up DC on a map or on GoogleMaps. You may find you don't need to take the Metro between the Smithsonian and the Capitol. It really isn't a long walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 I have. Over and over and over and over again. My dh has visited before and knows how much walking we'll be doing. With four kiddos who have been walking a lot the day before and the second day we figured taking the rail over would be nice distraction and a small bit of time to rest. If it were just me and him we probably would walk it. We know the area we'll be sightseeing and don't have time for seeing more than that unfortunately. Really...all I am needing to know is if I am figuring the fares correctly. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 The Capitol is pretty much on the mall (well, one end of it) and is totally walkable. Don't bother with the metro once you end up at the Smithsonian station. From that point, you can pretty much get anywhere you need to by walking (museums, Capitol, Washington monument, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulySusan Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Heather, I didn't try to re-calc your math, but I did remember a couple of other things we took into consideration when we had to figure this out. One, the day pass had limitations on what times of day you were allowed to ride (I think it excluded rush hour AM and PM). Also, you probably know this already, but be sure you are adding in the $5 cost for the smartrip card with no fare on it. Finally, the metro website large-print price is the discounted smartrip price. If you pay as you go, it is higher. Hope this helps. I thought planning how to get around DC was extremely complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 The Capitol is pretty much on the mall (well, one end of it) and is totally walkable. Don't bother with the metro once you end up at the Smithsonian station. From that point, you can pretty much get anywhere you need to by walking (museums, Capitol, Washington monument, etc.) I agree, if you're going to be on The Mall and want to go to the capital, just walk, it's not that far. Like the pp said it's what caps off that end of The Mall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Yeah... please don't ride the metro to get from Smithsonian to Capitol South. That really, really makes no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 day pass had limitations on what times of day you were allowed to ride The website says: With a One Day Pass, you can ride Metrorail as much as you want in a day. It's good after 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends and federal holidays. We'll be there on a Saturday and Sunday. Also, you probably know this already, but be sure you are adding in the $5 cost for the smartrip card with no fare on it. Ahh...I read that page wrong! I do see that now. There is a CharmCard for $10 that has $7.50 on it. Even after adding an additional $2.70 to each card, it's still a $30 savings from a day pass for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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